Treasures
by wattamelon19
Summary: Jen sets of the strangest set of events ever, starting with finding the evenstar pendant, Legolas showing up at her church with the ring of Galadriel, and Orcs intent on killing Jen and her family! Maybe the Ring wasn't destroyed in Mount Doom after all. She must have the worst luck in the world. Formerly Treasures Lost, Now Found. Re-edited!
1. The one where it all began

**A/N: I've completely re-edited this story! And I'll be posting more chapters as frequently as possible, but don't get all sad and dejected if there's a wait between chapters. I've got like eight billion and four other fanfics to work on at the moment, as well as school. But I'm not taking any summer classes this year, so I daresay there will be pretty frequent updates during the summer. **

_The one where it all began_

There were two pendants across her neck. One was a silver cross on a golden chain, the shine long gone from the years-old necklace. The other pendant was much older, though she didn't know that. This one shone with an unnatural white light, almost unnoticeable, but it was definitely there.

This necklace was magical. Of course, so was the other one, the cross necklace, but that one was magical in a totally different way. That one was good. It was happiness and love and forgiveness.

The shiny necklace, Jen tended to call it Sparks, had an air of mysteriousness to it. She sensed that it had been near tragedy, heartbreak, but also love. That was why it glowed. Jen didn't know that, either. There were a lot of things that Jen didn't know about that necklace. Most of which she was going to find out in a few short hours when her friend Trevor came for a surprise visit.

But first, you readers will get the story of how it all began. In a game of hide and seek.

It was no ordinary game of hide and seek- there was at least twelve people, all high school age or older standing around the basketball hoop that served as base. They had drawn straws to see who was It, and Jen had managed to draw a longer one. That was good. She was much better at hiding than seeking. Looking for things just wasn't her specialty; hiding from things was.

"One…two…three…GO!" Trin shouted, yelling as loudly as his laryngitis would allow him. Why Haley had made the boy with no voice be the counter, Jen would never know.

Everybody ran as fast as their legs would allow them. You didn't get long to hide; maybe thirty seconds. Then it was every man for himself as they ran towards base, trying to keep away from Trin, who was the fastest of them all. If you were tagged, you chased everybody else who was still hiding.

Jen preferred to wait it out. If you waited until a few people were tagged, then you would have a clear shot to base because Trin would be hunting around the borders of Haley's land for the people who ran as far away from base as they could. She heard screams and some laughter, saw shadows of people running in front of the bonfire that had been lit to keep them warm.

Playing hide and seek in the winter probably wasn't the brightest of ideas. Jen hugged her coat tighter to her as she hurried through the woods, looking for the hollow tree where she had hidden last time. Trin had run past her maybe seven times, and he still hadn't seen her.

Jen got the strangest feeling that only she could see the trees that stood along the dirt road behind Haley's house. Nobody else ever hid up here. She had asked about them one time, and Haley had given her the weirdest look that plainly said, "I have no idea what you're talking about". Jen had laughed it off like she was joking- of course there were no trees on Haley's land! The deforestation project had taken care that.

Jen was somewhat of a "go green" nut. Taking care of the environment, recycling, compost piles- that was Jen. Trevor had teased her endlessly about it before he graduated.

She ran through the dense forest, trying not to step on the leaves that littered the ground. She didn't notice how the leaves seemed to be, instead of the normal green (or, as it was winter, brown), gold and silver. And the ones on the ground weren't dead, like ordinary leaves would be. They were alive, as if they were still attached to branches.

After a few minutes, Jen arrived at the huge, hollow tree. There was a tiny space at the bottom, just big enough for her to crawl into. It was dark in here; none of the bright moonlight shone into her little hideout. It was also quiet, like she wasn't around any other people, much less twelve screaming teenagers. Maybe that was why Jen liked hiding here. She enjoyed the quiet. It was peaceful. It was also very lonely, but she tried to not let that bother her.

She backed up as far as the tree would allow, ignoring the rough bark that was scraping her arms. When she felt the trunk against her back, she stopped and sat down, digging her fingers into the dirt below her feet. It was soft and rich, untouched by any of the modern chemicals people used to get rid of bugs and other "pests". Jen liked bugs. They were kind of cute in a weird sort of way. Although spiders were just plain _creepy_.

"Ow!" she whispered, her voice breaking the heavy silence that surrounded her. Something sharp had poked her finger. She felt around, trying to unearth the sharp thing, being very careful to avoid its edges. Finally, after about ten minutes, she could see a tiny bit of it. It looked like a silver pendant, much too shiny to have been buried here for a long time. The dirt seemed to melt right off of it. There was a chain attached to it, and strangely enough, there was no mud caught in the links.

Jen had completely forgotten about the game of hide and seek. This pendant seemed to be whispering to her, begging her to discover its secrets. And just by looking at it, she knew this necklace had seen a lot. On the front of the necklace there was six clear, pointy gems (probably what had poked her finger), set in a star shape. There was silver swirling around that in almost a figure eight shape, but it was more elaborate than that. On the back a leaf curved in on itself, forming the backbone of the pendant. It seemed to be glowing, but that was impossible. Necklaces couldn't glow. Could they?

Later on that night, when Jen had remembered the game, she asked if anyone had lost it. They all shook their heads and Haley said to just keep it. Jen did just that, but if she knew what keeping that necklace meant, then maybe she would have left it in the tree.

Or maybe not.


	2. The one with orcs and warm necklaces

Authors Note: Hello! So, I completely forgot to do an authors note on that last post…sorry, it was late at night, and I randomly got an idea for a story. Or, at least, the beginning of an idea, as I'm still working on the rest. Feel free to give me ideas, and please review! Also, I may do the rest of the story in first person, because that's just easier for me to write in….sorry for any confusions. Also, be patient with me, I have to give all of the background information before anything good happens, so I promise the story will really get started in later chapters! Farewell (:

PS: I promise this chapter will be longer, I have no idea why I made the last one so short! Also, I do not own Lord of the Rings or Thousand Foot Krutch's song Bring Me To Life, Breath by Breaking Benjamin, or Broken Heart by Falling Up, or any of the other songs and bands I mention. Dude, that would be legit if I did though!

"Are you going to go in, or just sit and stare at the lovely tree I parked beside?" I jumped; I had gotten so lost in my thoughts that I had completely zoned out on the way to church.

Going. Right now. As soon as I feel like moving. Now, don't get me wrong, I _love_ going to youth. It's like, the highlight of my week. But, for some reason, I didn't feel like getting up and moving. Ugh, summer had officially taken it's toll on me, and laziness was setting in.

"Jenavia?" my mom asked. Oh. Right, she had asked me a question.

"See you in a bit," I said cheerily, and hopped out of the car, ignoring the painful crick in my neck that made moving my head a little difficult.

I loved the whole atmosphere of my youth. The guys -and a few brave girls- were playing full-tackle basketball in one half of the room, while others sat and played games or stood around and talked. The whole place is cheery, and it's like, impossible not to smile when you walk in. I scanned the people, looking for the girls I usually hung out with -me + basketball = FAIL!- when I saw someone I wasn't expecting to see. I ran directly over to him, and slammed into his arms.

"Jenavia?" a very surprised yet familiar voice asked.

"Trevor?" I replied, trying to keep myself from giggling uncontrollably.

"How has life been without me?" he asked teasingly. I restrained from punching him in the shoulder.

"It has been _wonderful_, thank you very much," I replied, trying -and failing- to be witty.

"Ohhhh, that was a harsh blow to the heart," said Trevor, his hands pressed up against his chest. "You know you missed your totally attractive best friend while he was at college."

"Yes, because life without somebody good-looking with me at all times is such a downer," I said. Actually, I had missed him, a whole lot more than I was letting on. Oh, yeah, I guess I should explain who Trevor is, shouldn't I?

So, I am eighteen, and Trevor is twenty-one. I have known him for what feels like forever, and before he went to college, we spent most of our time together. We met…gosh…I think it was the first day of my first grade year in elementary school. Yeah, that was it. I had been trying to figure out the whole "your-parents-drop-you-off-at-school-and-you-don't-see-them-until-it-is-over" concept. For some reason, I just could not understand why they would leave me in this strange place with all of these other kids and the grown-ups that always had fake smiles plastered on their faces. I found the whole thing to be really boring, except for one part. The library. It was so cool! There were books _everywhere, _and I loved books. Immediately, I walked over to the fourth-grade section, picked up the first book I saw and plopped down on the floor to read, much to the astonishment of my teachers. They came over and gently told me that I needed to pick a different book to check out. I remember giving them this look like: What the heck? I can read this book. They asked me questions about the characters and told me to read the first sentence, blah blah blah. I did all of that, and finally, they relented and let me check out the book. The boy at the computer was a big intimidating fourth grader that scared my little first grade self half to death. He was tall and had blonde hair, but dark eyes, and I guess that was the scary part. His voice though, was gentle, and not super happy and fake sounding like the teachers, and I think that was what made me want to be his friend.

Throughout the rest of my elementary school experience -sixth grade was the worst- I never forgot that boy. I also didn't figure out his name (Trevor Tanley) until the third grade, when I finally found the wonderful invention of yearbooks. (Long story). Anyways, I seldom talked to him, but he did hold my attention for some reason. I think I was in seventh grade waiting after school for my ride when I actually had a conversation with him for the first time.

My parents were late in picking me up that day, and all of my friends had gotten picked up earlier, leaving me alone. For a seventh grader, being without friends is really scary, especially when the only other person still waiting is a really tall ninth grade guy that was playing rock music really loud. Still though, what did I have to lose by at least attempting to talk to him? Right, nothing. I took a deep breath, silently willed my cheeks to not blush, and sat down beside of him. He gave me one of those "I am older than you, little seventh grader" looks, and changed the song on his iPod Touch. I just so happened to glance down at the song he switched it to, and smiled. He was playing Bring Me To Life by Thousand Foot Krutch, which by the way, is the best song ever, except perhaps Breath by Breaking Benjamin or Broken Heart by Falling Up. Okay, once I start going on about music, it is quite hard to get me to stop.

"You like Thousand Foot Krutch?" I asked, and miraculously, I did not sound stupid. Maybe I could talk to large ninth graders without the help of my friends.

He smiled, revealing teeth that were in retainers. I could see him turning down the volume so he could hear me better. "Yeah, they rock. And I have the same first name as the singer, so that's pretty cool."

I tried to play it cool, like I didn't already know his name. "So, your name is Trevor?" Wasn't that smooth?

He laughed. "Yeah, my name is Trevor, what about yours?"

"Well, I don't know if it can compare to the coolness of Trevor, but it's Jenavia," I replied. I liked his laugh. His whole face lit up whenever he laughed, and it made him look way less intimidating than he had looked about three seconds ago.

"Mmm, no, not as cool as Trevor," he said. I play-punched him in the shoulder without thinking. I kind of froze afterwards; why did I do that? It didn't seem to faze Trevor at all, because he began tickling my ribs. And so, I came to know Trevor, the guy that could paint like a boss, the guy that helped out at Camp Caswell for a couple weeks over the summer -best place ever, by the way-, and the guy that had a crazy taste in music. We talked about everything, from books and movies, to our faith, and then we got back to the topic of music. This lead to a teasing argument over who was better: Paramore or Flyleaf? Then to which song was better, Breath by Breaking Benjamin or Broken Heart by Falling Up. It was a dead tie on both for me though, so it wasn't much of an argument.

Throughout the years, we became best friends. We were inseparable once school was over for the day. (Different grades were never put together). Sometimes, he would sneak over to my house at night, and we would stay up watching random movies and eating microwaved smores. Wow, my parents were shocked the first morning when Trevor casually strolled into the kitchen and asked what was for breakfast. Their faces were priceless! And, yeah, there was a fair bit of jumping to conclusions too. Honestly, they do not trust me sometimes. They knew full well I was waiting for marriage. Somehow, Trevor managed to convince them that nothing happened between us except sharing a glass of apple juice, and to my surprise, he was welcomed back. Which was good, because he probably would've come over anyways.

Things pretty much stayed the same between us, until he got accepted into this big university. Then it sort of hit me that Trevor would be at college for most of the year. It was like, oh gosh, what do I do now? He assured me, though, that he would visit whenever he could, and I believed him. He did visit really often throughout the four years of his "College adventure!" as he called it.

I swear there is something wrong with that boy.

"So, are you just going to stare off into space, or what?" Trevor's voice shook me out of my flashback.

"Yeah, apparently I have been doing that a lot. Not meaning too," I said. I studied his face. He was worried about something, I could tell. He was biting his lower lip, a sure sign that something was on his mind. I decided to ask him about it. "What'cha worried about, Trevs?"

He smirked. "Is it that obvious?"

Yes, it was that obvious. I've known you for six years, I can tell when you are upset. "Just a little," I said.

"Uh…It's nothing. Just…umm," he stuttered. I raised my eyebrows at him; Trevor was almost never at a loss for words.

"Treeevvoorrr," I pleaded, drawing out his name. He usually gave in whenever I did that.

"Jeeennaaviaa," he replied, a mischievous smile coming across his face. Oh, no. Whenever he got that look, I knew what was coming. He started tickling my ribs, forcing me to tears from laughing so hard. I don't know how he knew where I was ticklish, because I don't think I ever told him.

Suddenly, he stopped. That was odd, Trevor never stopped tickling me until I had begged for mercy at least ten times. I was only on number three.

"Where did you get that?" He asked softly, pointing to the strange necklace I had found. I guess it had slipped out from underneath my shirt when I was squirming around to avoid him tickling me.

"I found it…In the woods…While I was playing hide and seek?" He was giving the poor necklace a death stare. "Trevor? It's just a necklace, you know that right?" I hoped it was just a necklace, but what else could it be, a bomb? Great, now I'm paranoid. Thanks Trevor.

He blinked at it for a good thirty seconds, like he was expecting it to talk or something. "Should I take it off?" I asked. He shook his head really fast.

"No, don't take it off! Um, just wait here, I have to go get my friend over there in the corner. Just don't move, kay?"

"Staying here," I said. Okay, he was really starting to worry me. Since when did Trevor have a phobia of necklaces? And what was his friend going to do about it? I sat there wondering until Trevor came back, with some other guy that had light hair and blue eyes. He looked young, about my age, but his eyes looked a million years old. I don't mean they had wrinkles around them or anything, but they had a sad look to them, like he had seen a lot of sadness in the world.

Trevor introduced him as Legolas Greenleaf. I was still trying to get over the strangeness of this name when Legolas Greenleaf decided he would put his hand on my necklace, which was much too close to the chest area for me. I raised my eyebrows at Trevor, who shrugged his shoulders and mouthed "He's odd". Thanks for the warning.

"Does it feel cold?" Legolas asked me, a sound of urgency in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Does what feel cold? My necklace? Who pays attention to the temperature of their necklaces? I sure don't.

"Your necklace, does it feel cold?" he repeated, the urgency in his voice turning to exasperation.

"Uh, I guess. I don't know, I haven't really paid any attention to it before." Why did it matter if my necklace felt cold? I was beginning to wonder about this Legolas person.

He sighed, looking completely frustrated now. "Well, pay attention to it. This is important, and it cannot be another fake one. We are running out of time." He said, mostly to himself. I rolled my eyes. Boys were so weird! What was so special about a necklace, and what was so important about it being cold. Now that I thought about it though, my necklace had never felt cold when I wore it, only when I took it off. Actually, it felt strangely warm, like a mini heater against my skin.

I looked up at Legolas, who was still looking at the necklace. "No, it doesn't feel cold, and it never has. Well, except for when I'm not wearing it, but when I put it on, it warms right up. Then, I take it off, and it gets freezing again," I said. Trevor and Legolas exchanged looks and whispers.

"Jen, we need to get out of here. Now," said Trevor.

"What? We can't wait until youth is over?" I asked. Trevor shrugged his shoulders and pointed to Legolas. "His idea."

"Yeah, you guys can go, and I'm staying till this is over," I said. I was not about to ditch youth to go strolling around with Trevor and his strange friend Legolas and talk about my necklace. It just wasn't gonna happen.

Trevor laughed. "Dude, she's not gonna move whenever she gets that look in her eye," he told Legolas.

"Fine. Stay. If Orcs suddenly come storming in here, don't expect my help," Legolas said angrily. Huh. He was a frustrated guy, wasn't he? Wait, did he just say _Orcs_? What the heck are Orcs?

"Orcs are not going to come in here. We lost them back in Italy, remember?" Italy? Okay, I was totally lost now.

"Yes, and the time before that, we lost them at base camp on K2. They caught up to us in Italy, remember?" Legolas said. These Orcs must be ninjas, tracking someone from Nepal all the way to Italy.

"Oh…right. I forgot about that. But I also know that she's not leaving until after youth is over, so deal with it. I'll stay with her, no worries." Trevor assured Legolas. They were talking like I wasn't even here, and it was making me frustrated. And what were Orcs?

"I'll guard the doors. Be ready to leave if the need arises."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we will be." Trevor said. Legolas reluctantly turned around and walked outside. I could see him sit down and fidget with something in his pocket.

"Trevor, what are Orcs? And why does it matter if my necklace is warm? And why were you in Italy and on K2? Also who is this Legolas person, and why is he so strange?" I asked, the questions all coming out at once.

His expression softened as he looked at me. "I'll explain it all later, trust me, you don't want to know just yet." I rolled my eyes. I'd rather know vs. sitting here and wondering about it for an hour.

He led me to the spot we always sat before he went to college, and slung his arm around my shoulder once we sat down. It took about three seconds of silence before he started going into a detailed explanation of his latest dream, involving a unicorn that left a trail of grape juice everywhere it went, and flying pigs that always followed the unicorn; they liked the taste of the grape juice. I really wonder what he thinks about when he falls asleep. Honestly!

Adrian -my youth pastor- had just started talking whenever I heard a little whistle. Trevor smacked his forehead. "Dang. How did they find us so quick? Come on, Jenavia. We have to go, like now."

I didn't question him. Whenever Trevor sounded urgent like that, I knew something was up. We snuck out the back, creeping around the church until we got to the parking lot. We hid behind a large van, and I saw I sight that made me want to check myself into a mental hospital. I rubbed my eyes, and looked again. Nope, they were still there, and Legolas was still trying to sneak out of their view. By them, I mean really large, really gross looking, really scary….things. There were two of them, and they were yelling in loud, deep, rough voices. "Where are they?" They asked to each other over and over again. Just then, Legolas sprinted -dang, that kid could run fast!- over to the van where Trevor and I hid.

"What did I tell you?" he asked in an I-told-you-so tone of voice.

"Shut up, let's go!" whispered Trevor. I sided with him. Please, please can we get away from the creepy guys with swords in their hands?

"Where do we go?" Legolas whispered, and Trevor pointed to the woods behind the church. He squeezed my hand, which made me realize we were holding hands. When did that happen?

"Jen, run fast, and whatever you do, don't look back," Trevor said quietly. I nodded, and ran as fast as I could to the woods, somehow managing to keep up with them. We stopped once we got pretty far in there, I had time to ask a question before Legolas -who wasn't even out of breath- suggested we run some more. "What were those things?" I knew the answer before I asked, but I wanted to make sure.

"Orcs," Trevor and Legolas said simultaneously.


End file.
